Microsoft software licensing
In July 2009 Microsoft announced a new licensing programme for schools, initially running as a pilot, available to all schools alongside the current School Agreement arrangements.
Read the full press release on the About Becta website.
Advice to schools
What is the purpose of this new licensing programme?
Microsoft have today [6 July 2009] launched the Subscription Enrolment for Schools Pilot (SESP) which gives UK schools who wish to use Microsoft products on a subscription basis greater choice and flexibility in how they acquire and use such products. SESP does this by removing previous requirements under subscription licensing to license products on an institution-wide basis and by providing both device and user based subscription pricing options. SESP is one of a number of Microsoft licensing programmes for the education sector, details of which can be found at the Microsoft UK Education website.
So what is important about this new Microsoft approach to licensing?
The new licensing scheme removes the requirement that schools using subscription agreements pay Microsoft to licence systems that are using their competitor's technologies. So for the first time schools using Microsoft's subscription licensing agreements can decide for themselves how much of their ICT estate to licence. This will improve choice and offer improved value for money for those schools who have decided to use Microsoft products.
So how might schools using subscription agreements save money then?
Microsoft's existing subscription agreement is very much an "all or nothing" arrangement which means that schools can often find themselves paying for Microsoft products they do not actually need or want. Under the new arrangements schools would be free to select the systems on which they run Microsoft products and thus potentially reduce costs. For example:
- A school using the existing Microsoft subscription agreement might well find that it is paying licence fees for the right to run Microsoft's Vista operating system on machines which are technically not capable of effectively running that software. Under the SESP they can now exclude such systems from their Microsoft licence calculations thus potentially reducing costs.
- A school might find that it wants to introduce pupils to a range of office productivity software and thus convert (say) 3 computer labs from running Microsoft Office to running an alternative product such as the freely available OpenOffice.org. Under the existing subscription arrangements they would still pay Microsoft subscription licensing fees for the systems running OpenOffice.org. Under the SESP they can now exclude such systems from their Microsoft Office licence calculations thus potentially reducing costs.
- A school may wish to introduce an "internet café" in a student research area based on say Linux and Firefox. Under the School Agreement they would still pay Microsoft subscription licensing fees for the systems running Linux. Under the SESP they can exclude such systems from their Microsoft licence calculations thus potentially reducing costs.
- A school may be using a suite of MacBooks in a media design studio. Under existing subscription arrangements they would actually be paying Microsoft subscription licensing fees when using such competitor systems. Under the SESP they can exclude such systems from their Microsoft licence calculations thus potentially reducing costs.
- Under the existing subscription agreement a school who wished to use (say) Microsoft Visio as part of a visual communication module would need to licence it on every eligible PC in the school. Under the SESP the school could decide just to licence Visio software on a few desktops thus potentially reducing costs.
So why is it "potentially" reducing costs – surely if I buy less it costs less?
Not necessarily. Under the SESP arrangements Microsoft has determined that the per device unit costs for not licensing the school's entire ICT estate will be about 10 per cent higher than those which apply if you are licensing the entire ICT estate. So if you are able to profile your Microsoft device licensing requirements such that you can reduce them by more than 10 per cent you will save money. Thereafter the more you reduce the more you save year on year. For the SESP user-based licensing option the increased unit costs for not licensing all users is in the region of 30 per cent. Schools will need to consider very carefully if such an option represents good value for money.
Can you give an estimate of the actual savings?
The extent to which savings may flow depends on the decisions of individual schools. Some schools may decide to continue with their current licensing arrangements and thus would not see any savings. Other schools may look to implement all the flexibility in the new arrangements and could see significant reductions in their annual licensing costs.
What if schools don't use Microsoft software or want to "mix and match", proprietary and open source software? Does Becta provide help and advice?
Becta provides a route for schools to procure a vast range of software through a new education-specific framework, set up in collaboration with Buying Solutions (the national procurement partner for the UK public service). We also provide research advice and support on open source software via the Becta supported Open Source Schools project.
So when you refer to the new education-specific framework, which Becta has set up in collaboration with Buying Solutions - is that different from the recently announced PSA 09 agreement between Buying Solutions and Microsoft?
Yes - the Buying Solutions PSA 09 agreement is not aimed at the education sector. Education institutions should use the Buying Solutions educational framework agreement which gives schools, local authorities and colleges an attractive route to obtain software licences through simple, cost-effective arrangements. It will offer a broad range of commercial, off-the-shelf software and licences, together with a range of value-adding support services, for example, sourcing, installation, technical support and licence management. It will provide better value for money for educational users than the PSA09 agreement.
What does this mean for schools and what should they do now?
Schools and local authorities who have decided to use Microsoft products on a perpetual or subscription basis should review their existing agreements in the light of the flexibility inherent in the SESP offering and the opportunities it presents for improved value for money.
How do schools and local authorities get access to SESP?
As this is a pilot Microsoft has decided to make the SESP available initially only via its EdLAR (Education Large Account Reseller) partners. A number of such resellers are available via the Buying Solutions education specific framework agreement.
So what are the main differences as compared to Microsoft's School Agreement licensing offer?
In addition to the removal of the requirement to licence every computer and the introduction of user licensing, SESP bases its device licence count on a slightly different basis as compared to School Agreement (SA). The School Agreement device count is based on an Eligible PC (broadly a PIII or equivalent, typically a 1999 specification). SESP bases its device count on a Qualified Desktop which Microsoft has confirmed is a system being capable of running Vista or Office 2007. Under the SESP the minimum specification of a Qualified Desktop has been agreed as a 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 40GB Hard Drive and Direct X9 graphics card (typically a 2001 specification). This would have the effect of allowing schools to exclude a wider range of systems from the definition of their "entire estate" and potentially reduce costs.
So is this new SESP programme now Becta approved?
No. Becta is not in the business of approving any supplier's software licences. What we can say is that in our opinion the new arrangements represent a positive development as compared to the licensing approach that underpinned our October 2007 complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
Why a pilot programme?
The aim of the pilot is to put arrangements in place that will give increased choice and flexibility to schools to respond to the needs of their learners. The pilot will give Becta the opportunity to see to what extent the new arrangements actually provide a practical solution to the concerns we have previously identified.
Does this change Becta’s advice to schools not to upgrade to Vista and Office 2007?
No. We published a report in January 2008 that advised against upgrading to Vista and Office 2007. One of the reasons for advising against the deployment of Office 2007 was a lack of native support for the ODF file format. Once effective ODF support in Office 2007 is delivered we will update our advice on interoperability. Until that time our existing advice remains unchanged.
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